Hi,
I'm new here but have a strange problem with my car.
I was driving up a small hill when the 'check engine' light came on and the engine shook and felt like it was going to stall; it did not. Within a minute or two, the same thing happened: light, shaking, almost stalled, then the light went off. The engine stayed sluggish and trembling at times.
I checked th e oil, and all the fluids, temperature, smell--everything was ok but engine still lazy.
I let the car sit for about five hours while at work. When I came out I checked everything again--all ok. Started the car and let it idle while listening for any strange noises, nothing. But the 'check engine' light came on after a few minutes and this time it did not go off.
I drove home on surface streets (in L.A. it took me a while to get home) and the engine really acted-up. It would tremble and shake on acceleration and somewhat level off as higher speed was reached; everything else seemed to be ok.
I just had the oil change, filters everything and the car was running extremely well for the last five days. I put gas this morning before all this happened and the light came on maybe 45 minutes after that. I just read that a loose gas cap can cause this so I will go down and check that but in the meantime any help and any other ideas are greatly appreciated.
I also have a honda and an old 1971 mercedes so I'm used to looking for loose hoses or other things under the hood but with this car I don't know where to start--a bit frustrating and helpless.
thanks for any help